Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) refers to systems that measure, collect and analyze energy usage, and interact with advanced devices such as electricity meters, gas meters, heat meters, and water meters, through various communication media either on-demand or on pre-defined schedules. The AMI infrastructure includes hardware, software, communications, energy displays, controllers, etc.
Energy measurement devices and AMI circuit boards located at the customer premises can be used to monitor energy consumption and communicate such information to suppliers, utility companies and service providers. AMI communications may also be utilized by the utility to help consumers manually or automatically change their normal consumption patterns, for example, in response to changes in price or as incentives designed to encourage lower energy usage use at times of peak-demand periods or higher wholesale prices or during periods of low operational systems reliability.
AMI circuit boards typically require a backup power supply or battery to maintain communications and to preserve usage data during times when utility service is interrupted. AMI circuit boards, backup batteries, and other components associated with energy monitoring typically have limited lifetimes, and require servicing or replacement.